The Gaian Seas: The Next Relic
by yoshiman32892
Summary: With help from an old friend of Remmy, The Durem Pirates locate the next relic in the coldest reaches of Gaia. Will they locate the relic before meeting with an icy end? Or will they be buried under an onslaught of ice and snow? (*Volume 3 of "The Gaian Seas)
1. Preparations

The sun was high above Aekea as various sounds of machinery clanged through the air. "Welcome, everyone, to my side of towns!" Remmy declared as he and Diesel led the way through the area for Yoshi, Nina and Neko. Ethan and Wendy were off gathering some supplies for the upcoming adventure. "Aekea sure is an interesting place." Nina observed before giggling. "None of the kingdoms in my world had anywhere near this advanced technology." She informed. Diesel turned slightly as he recalled something from his databanks. "There is a remote area said to have even more tech then even here." The mech informed. Remmy went star eyed. "Steamgear Canyon... said to have started out as a factory for steam energy, but it's richness in rare materials and surplus of energy attracted inventors and tinkerers from all across Gaia and it evolved into a legend amongst the technical minded like myself." The zurg stated with great interest. Neko chuckled. "So basically it's the promised land for eggheads like you." The feline stated with a smirk. Remmy paid the comment no mind as he was lost in thought. The zurg sighed. "I would love to go there one day... sadly even the location is considered legend as it is unknown and lost to time." He lamented. Remmy soon brightened up with a chuckle as he noticed a big building come into view. "But there are always second bests to everything." He stated.

**The Gaian Seas.**

**The Next Relic**

~ Ch. 1: Preparations

As the group approached the big building, Remmy cleared his throat. "Ladies, gentlemen, and Neko, welcome to the biggest garage in Aekea! Home to thee greatest engineer I know." The zurg said in a grand voice. "You talk mighty highly of me for someone who is my near equal." Said a voice as the buildings side door opened. Emerging from the door was a man with wild white hair and piercing green eyes that showed age and wisdom. The man was also pretty muscular for his age. Yoshi's jaw dropped as he recognized the man. "M-Mister Aekea! It's a pleasure to meet you." The pirate said as he and Neko gave a slight bow. Everyone else blinked at this. The man chuckled before giving a hearty laugh. "Oh don't be so formal." He said as he gave a few enthusiastic pats on Yoshi and Neko's shoulders. "Um, is this man royalty or something?" Nina asked Neko. The feline rubbed his now sore shoulder. "No, Mister Aekea is one of the four town elders. Many hold great respect to them and they were even granted the names of their respective towns in honor of all they do for the towns despite their age." He explained. "Bah! It's just needless formality if you ask me. Please, call me Arthur." Arthur said with a wink and thumbs up. He then turned to Remmy and Diesel. "But I must say, it has been awhile since I last saw you two. What brings this visit of yours?" Arthur asked.

Later, inside Arthur Aekea's garage, Remmy had explained what The Durem Pirate crew has gotten themselves into. "Well grease my gears... you truly took on such an old legend? And what's more you even found a piece of it!" Arthur said as he examined the Black Diamond of Umbrae Mundi. "There was a prophecy spoken by an opponent we encountered before obtaining the gem. They said someone else who seeks the destruction of Gaia was after the key infinitum as well." Yoshi informed. "And that is why we came here. We need anything we could get to obtain an edge over whoever we are up against." Remmy stated. Arthur leaned back in his chair as he gazed at the black diamond. "If I could isolate any energy signatures this relic shares with its other parts I may be able to create a locating device. But with only one piece, it could take awhile." The elder informed. "Well, we could use all the time it takes to prepare at least." Neko stated with a shrug. Everyone nodded. Arthur handed the gem back to Yoshi before giving a loud clap of his hands. "Alright, no time like the present as they say, or as I like to say, let's work before we rust!" He said with a hearty laugh.

After some discussions and planning, Arthur sent Yoshi, Neko and Nina off to get some parts and materials. He and Yoshi also agreed to add some upgrades to The Grand Crimson later. Meanwhile, Remmy had Diesel in sleep mode to do some maintenance and upgrades. "Do they know the truth about Diesel yet?" Arthur asked as he approached the working zurg. Remmy let out a sigh. "I've... yet to bring it up." He said reluctantly. Arthur gave a silent stare at Diesel. "I see you have animated him. Are you hoping to initiate that program of yours?" Arthur inquired. "System 7 has already had some... spontaneous... activations. It never stays online enough to fully load, but the progress is never lost when it stops." Remmy stated before turning to Arthur. "System 7 will be the final step in Diesel's animation, and awaken his full potential." He stated. Arthur gave another stare at Diesel. "But it will also awaken what he once was, and given what he is..." The old mechanic trailed off. Remmy was silent as he halted his movements. "I have faith in my friend. He's always been there for me and I've always been there for him. The least I could do is try to give him back the old life that was taken from him." Remmy said as he unlocked the console to rise it up, revealing the mechanically altered Nightfright face under it. "... Any clues yet who that lab you found him in belonged to?" Arthur inquired. "Not yet. All trails I find go cold fast. But all trails I find have remnants of ghi energy, animated, and they are covered in the letter Z." Remmy recalled. "Have any plans of going back to that first lab?" Arthur asked. Before Remmy could respond, a sudden beeping from the console caught his attention. Climbing to the console he checked the screen. "System 7 has hit 25 percent."

_Diesel was once more in a hazed dream. It was greatly distorted like gazing through mismatched lenses yet also clearer then it was before. He was in a lab, floating in a tank of liquid. Various wires were attached to him and outside the tank he could see the back of a holoscreen. It was too hazy to read, but he could tell he was a labrat of sorts. A few strange labtechs entered an automatic door to the side of the room. They seemed to be talking but the hazes distortion broke any chance of understanding most of what they said. It wasn't until one of the labtech neared that a faint recognition struck. This labtech was vaguely seen in that other dream within the cave. The labtech spoke with great distortion but some words were heard despite being broken through the haze. "Th- cyb-fr-ght pro-ct s-ms t- -e de-lop-g -rea-ly. I -ink s-ject t- is -eady fo- op-ati-n!" The labtech sounded enthusiastic, but his words made Diesel go on high alert and want to break loose. He couldn't, he could barely lift his wire covered arm. He then noticed the needles on the arm, they had him tranquilized. The labtech took notice of Diesel's movement. "St-nger -en anti-pa-ed. No m-ter, we -ld ju-t up y-r dos-ge." The labtech tapped some buttons on the holoscreen. Diesel then felt himself go numb as his eyes began to close._

A sudden surge of electricity shocked Remmy causing him to fall off of Diesel. "Ugh... what happened?" The zurg asked as he picked himself up. "It looked like a slight power surge to me. Best check Diesel's systems and make sure there's no damage from it." Arthur advised. Something then caught his attention. Diesel was shaking. "Hmm, is that normal?" The mechanic asked. Remmy observed Diesel's shaking before he sighed. "It only happens occasionally when he's in sleep mode. I assume he's dreaming." The zurg stated. Arthur scratched his chin in thought. "Has he ever mentioned any dreams? When did this start?" He questioned. Remmy meanwhile continued on the area he was working on. "He hasn't brought it up, but I could tell it bothers him after waking him up so I never pry about it. And they started shortly after his animation." The zurg informed before finishing what he was doing. He then brought the console back down over Diesel's head and it locked into place with a puff of air along the edges. "How long do you think it'll take for that program of yours to work anyway?" Arthur questioned in curiosity. Remmy shrugged. "Could take anywhere from a month to a year. Like I said earlier, it activates spontaneously and doesn't stay on for long." The zurg said before getting ready to descend to the ground. Something caught his eye along the edge of the console though. "And just what is this?" He questioned as he climbed to the console edge. "Something wrong Remmy?" Arthur asked. "You wouldn't happen to have had anyone with orange hair visit recently would you?" Remmy asked as he picked up a strand of orange hair from the console. Arthur raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I believe I would remember someone like that but I don't. Why do you ask?" He questioned as he got up and walked over to the zurg who showed him the strand of hair he found. Arthur shrugged and before much further discussion could be made, a call from another room got their attention. The others were back.

As Arthur and Remmy entered the other room to greet everyone back, two others were present as well. "Hey Ethan, Wendy, how did supply shopping go?" Remmy asked when he saw the two. "It was alright. We ended up with a bit more then we planned due to some decent deals." Ethan said with a smirk. He then turned to Arthur. "So I hear you're the elder of Aekea and an old friend of Remmy. Great to meet you." The bunny said with a smile. "And you must be Ethan, I heard a bit about you through your friends." Arthur said returning the smile. He then knelt down and ruffled Wendy's hair. "And you must be Wendy the prodigy healer." He said. Wendy giggled. "Yep. That's me!" She said standing proudly. Standing back up, Arthur kindly took the supplies he sent for from the others. "Make yourselves comfortable everyone, it'll take awhile for me to make the location device for you." He said. "About how long will it take?" Yoshi questioned. "Couple days at least, a week at most." Arthur informed before giving a thumbs up. "Hehe, time to get the motor going and the wheels turning!" He declared with a laugh.


	2. Arcanium and The Otami Child

Two days have passed since work began on a tracking device for the relics of the Key Infinitum. The Durem Pirates crew were all enjoying some time around the towns while Arthur worked. He would occasionally call the group asking to pick up some supplies he needed, but it was usually nothing hard to find. Most things Remmy turned out to have at his place in the outskirts of Aekea. Unfortunately though, what they are looking for now was a different story. "I cannot believe this!" Remmy lamented as he, Diesel and Ethan were wondering the towns area for information. "Arthur finally manages to isolate the source energy of the relics but he can't stabilize and draw the energy without one of the rarest damn metals known to Gaia!" The zurg ranted. Ethan sighed. "Yes, this is far from ideal but what can we do? Without any leads to the other relics we will need a tracking device for it." The bunny pointed out. Remmy groaned in frustration. "I know that! It's just... why? Why does it have to be this particular metal?!" Remmy complained. Diesel had been going through his databanks for any info on the metal and couldn't find much. "Most of what is known about the metal called Arcanium is that it was used in ancient times by magic users as a powerful focus for their magic. The metal can take any energy and amplify it beyond measure. When its power was seen as too powerful it was eventually either sealed away or treasured as sacred by various tribes and villages." The mech informed. Remmy just facepalmed. "How about something helpful instead of a history lesson." The zurg said in an exasperated voice. "It is near indestructible and can only be molded with great care and powerful magic... and that's all that is known." The mech stated. "Great..." Remmy drawled as he drooped in his seat. Unknown to the group, someone was watching from within the shadows. "... He isn't here, but they should lead me to him." They whispered to themself. They then dropped to the ground with a sigh as the headdress they wore fell over their face. "But sticking to the shadows is so boring!" They whined as they raised the headdress back to place.

~ Ch.2: Arcanium and The Otami Child

Ethan, Diesel and Remmy began heading back into Aekea to inform the others that they had no luck finding anything about the Arcanium. Meanwhile their follower was still sticking to the shadows, although they would occasionally trip. Diesel occasionally turned around swearing he detected something on his scanners. After once more turning around, Remmy had enough. "Alright, show yourself! We know you're following us and we won't take another step before you come out of hiding!" The zurg declared. The one following them froze at this. They couldn't be seen yet, it wasn't time! They quickly took in the surroundings of Outer Aekea. They spotted a canister with tubes on it at a small factory looking place. It was labeled STEAM... perfect. They took out a blowdart and fired at the connected tube. Steam quickly began screeching out of the impact point shortly before the pipe ruptured letting out a thick haze of steam. "What the heck?!" Remmy exclaimed in surprise at the sudden explosion of steam that filled the air. Distraction in place, the stranger took off laughing. When the air cleared, Remmy looked around in annoyance. When he saw Ethan though, he could barely contain his laughter. The bunny's hair and fur were all frizzed up. Ethan, eye twitching, just turned around and began walking ahead. "H-hey wait up!" Remmy shouted.

Once Remmy, Diesel and Ethan made it back to Arthur's garage they filled in the others on what happened. "So whoever or whatever it was really didn't show up on Diesel's scanners?" Arthur questioned. "They would show up for split seconds at a time but disappeared shortly after." Diesel informed. Remmy meanwhile was rapidly going through system checks in the console. "Scanners seem to be working at top efficiency. I don't see how they could go unnoticed like that!" The zurg said scratching his head in frustration. If he had hair he would probably be pulling it out at this. "What if it was a dark mage?" Ethan said with a clenched fist. "Or worse, what if it's the other person after the Key Infinitum?!" Neko exclaimed. "We need to track them down before they track us down!" The feline stated. Yoshi rolled his eyes. "And what if it was a wild animal? Honestly I doubt it was anything bad. I would've sensed it." Brim stated. "It's true, Brim has a real talent for sniffing out the ill intent." Yoshi said with a shrug. "But I do admit, I am feeling a familiar energy. Hehe, I am sure they will make themself known soon." The sword stated with a chuckle. Yoshi glared at Brim. "What are you not telling?" He demanded. Brim chuckled some more before something fell into the room. "We have company." Brim stated as the object that fell into the room let out a thick haze of colorful smoke. Before anyone could panic or do much, a loud crash and yelp was heard. "Owowow, that was NOT a good landing." Cried a strange voice as the smoke cleared. A young girl in a gold headdress was seen buried in a collapsed pile of spare scrap Arthur had. She froze up when she realized she was spotted.

The group didn't know what to make of the intruder, but Yoshi seemed to recognize her. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" He asked. The stranger merely nodded. "We met a few years back... in the forest of the Otami Ruins." She said as she began trying to dig herself out of the scrap pile. Everyone else quickly approached to help. "A lot's happened in the past few years. I've met alot of people. And..." Yoshi trailed off as they unburied her arms. She had wings on them. Yoshi remembered now. "You're one of the Otami. You're the young Otami I saved from the animated back then!" He recalled. "Didn't I say the energy felt familiar?" Brim said with another chuckle. "Wait, how do you know an Otami? Aren't they supposed to be super secretive and all that." Arthur questioned. The young Otami dusted herself off after being unburied. "I ventured out of my village and was found by a bunch of Unliving." She stated. "Animated are what we call them. And there were a lot of them that day in the ruins." Yoshi recalled. "Wasn't that the day they tried doing that ritual to steal lifeforce or something?" Brim recalled as well. The young Otami nodded. "Yes, it was when they were using those spirit pyres to take the lifeforce of the Otami spirits!" She stated. The memories of that day began resurfacing for Yoshi.

_Shrieks were heard all across the Otami Ruins. Hordes of Tiny Terrors were igniting pillars around the area. Once their plans became known, several Gaians in the area scrambled to get them put out. Before long it became a war between the animated of the ruins and the Gaians. Yoshi, being the heavy hitter he was, cleared the areas around the pillars for the other Gaians. Once the areas were cleared and the fires were extinguished, he left it up to the others to keep them from reigniting. After three pillars were cleared, he sprinted with fleet feet to the last one. "There is only one pillar left. I can feel it nearby." Brim stated. Yoshi merely nodded as he kept on running. Before long, he managed to catch sight of the last pillar passed some trees. "There it is!" He said as he drew Brim forth ready to take on the mass of animated. With shrieks of fury, the Tiny Terrors charged forth. Yoshi quickly took out the first few with deadly precision. He was then caught off guard as a Witch Doctor showed up and attacked. "Damnit!" Yoshi swore as he jumped away from the Witch Doctor. "I hate these guys!" He said as he raised up a fist. A few rings we wore began glowing before a beam of light and pistol materialized and fired at the Witch Doctor. With the Witch Doctor's momentary distraction from the attack, Yoshi dashed forth with Brim to finish it._

_As the Witch Doctor began to vanish after its defeat, Yoshi quickly turned to the rest of the animated to finish it. Before he could advance at them, a shout was heard from some nearby trees. The shout caught the Tiny Terrors attention and they began moving in the direction it came from. "Oh no you don't!" Yoshi said as another ring glowed brightly. A giant blue coyote appeared around Yoshi as a howl was heard. When it disappeared Yoshi sprinted at incredible speed through the Tiny Terrors, taking them out as he went. Through the trees he saw more Tiny Terrors running by. They were chasing someone. It looked like a little girl. Yoshi took a look at his rings. A grayed out ring had just regained color, signaling it was ready to use again. With its glow, a whistle was heard and Yoshi sprinted even faster after the Terrors. As he passed each one he swung Brim to take them out. In the distance he could see the side of one out of the many cliffs in the area. Whoever they were chasing was about to be cornered! "Brim! Cut them off!" Yoshi ordered as he tossed the blade forward. Brim flew over and ahead of all the Tiny Terrors before descending behind the person they were chasing. Brim then spun back at the Tiny Terrors who went wide eyed in surprise at the blade. With a rapidly spinning continuous slash, he took out many of them. The rest turned only to find Yoshi slashing through them with a glowing red sword materialized from another ring._

_Out of breath, and faced against a cliff, the little girl turned around and was surprised to see the hoard of Tiny Terrors had vanished. In their place stood a red clad pirate sheathing his sword on his back. "Are you alright?" Yoshi asked. The girl didn't know what to say. She stuttered a bit trying to find words before just nodding. "I think she might be shaken up from that chase the Terrors gave her." Brim said. The blade then hummed in focus a bit. "Her health is low as well. She needs healing." He stated. "I-I'm fine." The girl said in a shaky voice. "With how low your health is, one more solid hit and you won't be going anywhere without a defib." Brim stated in a serious yet concerned voice. Yoshi slowly knelt down in front of the girl who reflexively backed up. She had some scratches and scrapes from either the Terrors or being chased through the forest. A ring on Yoshi's hand glowed and a dandelion appeared before vanishing into a green aura around the little girl. Yoshi then sat on the ground with a sigh as the girl watched her scrapes and scratches lighten up. "Sorry, but I don't have enough energy left to fully heal you at the moment." The pirate stated. The girl looked at him puzzled. "Why would someone with an unliving item show such kindness? And why would the unliving item care so much as well?" The girl asked in curiosity. "Unliving item? Oh... you mean animated..." Yoshi realized and sulked a bit. "I am unlike most other animated. Please do not judge us based on my origin." Brim stated. "Sorry." The girl said a bit sheepishly. "It's ok, I'm used to it..." Yoshi stated sadly as he summoned another dandelion for the girl. Now she felt a bit guilty. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to judge." She said honestly. Yoshi let out a chuckle. "Really, it's fine. I understand it's difficult to see any animated as good. But Brim is a special case." The pirate said as he gave a glance at his trusted blade. "How so?" The girl asked. "It's quite an interesting story." Yoshi said before a rustling was heard._

_Standing and swiftly turning around, Yoshi saw two figures wearing the same outfit as the girl appear from the trees. The girl recognized them and froze up. She was in trouble. "Rin... Lin... What are you doing here?" The girl hesitantly asked. "Looking for you." Rin stated. "Why did you venture out of the village?" Lin asked. "W-well umm, y-you see I umm..." The little girl stuttered glancing at Yoshi. Rin and Lin looked to the pirate. "What are the looks for?" He asked uneasy. "Are you responsible for this?" Rin asked. "No, I was just helping take care of those pillars the animated set up when I heard a shout. She was being chased by a stampede of animated and I stepped in to help!" Yoshi stated. "And why should we believe you." Rin stated. The girl then stepped between the two and Yoshi. "He's telling the truth. And if it weren't for him... I would be with the gods right now." She stated. Rin and Lin were silent as they looked between the girl and Yoshi. "We thank you for saving Maya..." Lin said before turning to the girl named Maya with a serious look. "But this encounter has shifted fates." She stated. "How so..." Yoshi asked. Rin and Lin looked at each other before turning to leave. "Come Maya, we're taking you back to the village." Lin stated. Maya hesitated before nodding and going with them as they entered the trees. Rin stopped just short of the trees. "We will meet again shortly to discuss your new destiny. Till then we will be watching. Farewell for now, Yoshi Jones." Rin stated making Yoshi flinch before running after the others. The pirate stood in silence for a bit before making his way back to the Ruins._

Bringing his mind back to the present, Yoshi cleared his throat. "So everyone, this is Maya. Maya, this is my crew. Neko, Nina, Remmy with Diesel, Wendy, and Ethan." Yoshi introduced everyone. Maya nodded. "It's nice to meet you all. It's also nice to see you've made friends Yoshi!" She said with a smile. Yoshi grinned as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. He then got a puzzled look before his eyes widened a bit. "What are you doing here though? Am I gonna have to deal with Rin and Lin again?!" He panicked. Maya shook her head. "No, I was actually sent to find you by our elder." She stated before reaching into a satchel she had. She pulled out a shining silver looking medallion. "This is one of our village's most ancient artifacts. But a vision had foreseen a great vital need of it. It was then my duty to deliver it to you." Maya informed as she handed the medallion to Yoshi. Arthur's eyes widened at the sight of it. "Th-that's Arcanium!" The old man exclaimed. "So we spent all day searching for info on it... only to have it be given to us." Remmy said as his eye twitched. Ethan sighed. "Well better sooner than later at least." He said. "Yes, we could've been looking for months for it." Nina pointed out. Remmy let out a light growl. "Still though, a whole day went to waste on an unneeded search!" Remmy said in frustration. After inspecting the metal of the medallion, Yoshi slowly looked from the Arcanium medallion to Remmy with a sheepish grin. "If that frustrates you... you're probably gonna hate me for what I have to say..." He reluctantly said. Remmy's eye twitched as he glared at the pirate. "... Yoshi... I swear, if you say something like you had Arcanium this whole time... I WILL have Diesel blast you." The zurg stated. Everyone flinched at this, especially Diesel. Yoshi sweatdropped with a nervous chuckle. "Umm, can I have a running away headstart?" He sheepishly said. Remmy gave out a rising growl as the pirate immediately ran for the door. "YOSHIIIIII!" Remmy shouted.


	3. The Hunt For The Relics Begins

"So... this is the Arcanium you have huh?" Arthur said as he, Yoshi and Remmy stood in the reactor core of The Grand Crimson. It was turned off for maintenance and upgrades to the ship. "Yeah, that's the Arcanium. I just never knew what it was until I saw the Arcanium that Maya gave us." Yoshi stated as he reached out and touched the metal in the machine. It looked like bands of metal fused together in a strange design of a circle split in 4 pieces with three small circles on the inside across the middle. It had various wires and tech attached to it. "Where did you possibly get this?" Arthur asked in curiosity. Yoshi looked uncomfortable. "I... I took it when I..." He began to say before shutting the compartment the metal was in. "... when I left my old village." Yoshi muttered. Remmy cringed when he realized why Yoshi was visibly upset. Knowing why Yoshi left in the first place. "It was an old treasure my village kept safe. I figured I would take it with me rather than leave it for any looting thieves. Plus when I realized how great it amplifies power, I incorporated it into The Grand Crimson's reactor. I've still yet to learn where its limit is. Only a fraction of the reactors potential energy output is ever used, even when the ship is in flight." Yoshi monologued as he led the way out of the core of the reactor. Arthur let out a laugh. "I'll keep that in mind when I look into the upgrading. Maybe I could harness the excess power into an energy cannon of sorts." The old mechanic thought aloud with a smirk as he stroked his chin. "Just don't blow the ship up." Remmy said with a smirk of his own. "Hey, when do any of my projects blow up?" Arthur protested while Remmy laughed.

~ Ch.3: The Hunt For The Relics Begins.

While Yoshi, Remmy and Arthur where working on the ships reactor to direct energy to its new gadgets, Neko and Ethan left to get food for everyone. Meanwhile at Arthur's place, Nina and Diesel were watching Wendy and Maya. Wendy would sometimes ask Maya about the Otami and Maya would always act mysterious, saying cryptic lines like, "That knowledge has the strength to change fates." or, "The gods wouldn't like me talking about that." in a singsong voice. They would both laugh whenever they did that. Nina couldn't help but giggle at this as well shortly followed by a yawn. It was a really relaxing day. "Go take a nap Nina. You could probably use the rest." Diesel said after she yawned again. "I'm fine, it's just one of those warm relaxing days." Nina said with a smile. Before she knew it though, she had Maya dragging her away. "Come on! It's always great to nap when you're tired. I'll even tell you my favorite bedtime story our elder used to tell me!" The little Otami girl said as she dragged Nina off. The nightfright once more couldn't help but giggle at the child's enthusiasm. Diesel also let out a light laugh before taking a drink of water he had out. When he lowered the cup of water he saw Wendy staring at him. "What is it Wendy?" He asked. Wendy hummed a bit, trying to think of how to ask what she wanted to say. "Why don't you talk with your mouth?" She eventually asked. Diesel chuckled. "I've spent so long using speakers in my console to talk, it's become second nature for me." He explained. "Does that mean the voice we know is the consoles voice and not your own?" Wendy asked. Diesel thought on it a bit. He stopped thinking and shook his head when his thoughts went to those dreams he's been having. Was that his voice he heard in it? "It's been so long since I've truly spoke... I don't remember my own voice." Diesel stated. "Well why not try now?" Wendy suggested with enthusiasm. Taking a moment to contemplate it, Diesel finished his cup of water before clearing his throat. "Hello, I am Diesel." He said with a slightly hoarse voice, presumably from not using it. Despite this though, it was also rich and deep. "To my knowledge I've... only truly spoken once, back when I encountered Fang." He said going back to speaking through the console. Wendy took a moment's thought before nodding to herself. "Well... I'm giving doctor's orders for light speaking to get used to it. Then you could speak normally if you want." Diesel took a moment of contemplation before ruffling the little mages hair. "I'll consider it." He said. Meanwhile a few rooms away, Nina's ears had perked up as she turned around. "What's wrong?" Maya asked. Nina shook her head. "Just... thought I heard someone I knew. But it's impossible." She said. Maya hummed as she stretched. "Nothing is ever truly impossible you know. So what is it?" Maya inquired. Nina was silent for a bit before yawning and shaking her head. "It's nothing, I'm probably just more tired than I thought." She said.

After a day of planning, work got underway on The Grand Crimson. To save much needed time on the installation of Arthur's energy cannon idea, he decided to use a prototype he was already working on. "I know you said your reactor can handle a lot of power, but I still advise using this only when needed." Arthur said after the energy cannon was mounted and secured in place. "In all its tests I've poured a heck of a lot of power through it. Never once managed enough juice for much, but perhaps that Arcanium can work its magic with it." The mechanic stated as he cleaned off some grease from his hands. Yoshi nodded as he and the others looked at the new energy cannon. It was placed within an open plating area on the upper bow of the ship. "I'll keep that in mind." The pirate said. Remmy smirked as he turned to the mechanic. "So, does this beast have a name given to it?" The zurg asked. Arthur stroked his chin in thought. "No, I never got around to naming it. I usually name only my completed projects. This is still just a prototype." Arthur informed with a shrug. "Ionicka." Yoshi said, getting everyone's attention. "A powerful yet simple name for an ion cannon." Diesel said with a nod. "I like it." Ethan said with a smirk and a thumbs up. Everyone else nodded with similar comments of approval to the name. "Alright then..." Yoshi began with a clap of his hands. "After the final upgrades and system checks are completed, it'll be our time to set sail!" He said to which everyone cheered.

The day was finally here for Yoshi and his crew to set sail. Everyone was excited to continue their adventure. Nobody could stop talking about what could await them the entire time they were gathering supplies onto The Grand Crimson. There was just one thing Yoshi didn't see coming, even though in hindsight he probably should have. Yoshi and Maya stood on the ship's deck, and Maya had asked if she could join them. "I'm not sure that's a good idea..." Yoshi said with unease. "Why not?" Maya asked. Yoshi held up his hand to start counting reasons on his fingers. "For one, you're still a little kid." He said raising one finger. "So is Wendy." Maya argued. "Yes, but she has proven she could handle herself in bad situations. Plus she's a healer. Two, you have a bad habit of impulsive decisions you don't fully think through." The pirate said counting on his second finger. "If that one's about me leaving my village the first time, I've learned my lesson on that!" The young Otami argued once more. "I'm talking about you damaging that factory in Aekea when you first arrived. They are still trying to repair the damage from the moisture of that unleashed steam." Yoshi pointed out. Maya flailed her wings in protest. "I had no choice! It wasn't time for me to be seen yet and I was cornered!" She stated. "And three... your people would most likely worry about you." Yoshi said with a serious yet concerned tone. That one seemed to get through to her as she sulked a bit.

Maya nodded after she thought about it. "Yeah, I know they would worry about me." She said before taking on a look of resolve. "But I also know they would want me to stay true to who I am." She stated before she looked aside, gazing into the distance. "I am not like most Otami..." She began as she walked over to the ships railing and rested her arms crossed on it and her chin on top of them. "The others of my village are all content with staying in the shadows of secrecy... but... I never felt like I fit in. I'm always causing trouble without meaning to. I've always had the others of my village with me, but I always felt lonely." The young Otami stated before turning to look at Yoshi who had joined her at the railing. "When I was given the task of bringing the medallion, I was excited, because it was a chance to leave the village for once! It was a chance of adventure! And everything was so new, so fresh and different!" She said with a smile. Yoshi returned the smile. "So if I understand correct, you felt like a caged bird that was finally able to spread her wings to fly?" The pirate said. "Yep! Most definitely!" Maya said as she flapped her wings and laughed at his unintentional joke. Yoshi gave a sigh before smiling again. "No matter what I say to change your mind, you're not gonna take no as an answer, are you?" He asked. Maya grinned. Yoshi raised his arms in defeat. "Alright then, you could join." He said to which Maya cheered. "But... if Rin and Lin come after me for this, or worse one of the gods, then I am gonna blame you." The pirate stated. Maya took a moment's thought before grinning. "Is the great Durem Pirate afraid?" She teased. "I am not afraid, I just worry for my life!" The pirate denied making Maya laugh.

It took little time for the crew to set sail and once out at sea, they all realized just how much they missed it. "It truly has been too long." Yoshi said as he set course to follow the relic tracking device that was mounted at the helm. After a couple days of sailing, everyone began doing their own things until they arrived. Neko, Ethan and Yoshi were training and sparring on the ship's deck. Wendy was reading and practicing healing spells from the Book of Light. Remmy and Diesel were monitoring the reactor for any changes. Nina was reading a book, but something had crossed her mind and she couldn't put the thought aside. She put away her book and made her way through the halls inside The Grand Crimson. About halfway to her destination, she was spotted by the newest of the crew, and they decided to follow. After following for a bit they decided to make themself known. "So where are we going?" Maya asked. Nina jumped back in surprise. She calmed when she saw who it was. "Maya, please don't sneak up on people like that." Nina said. Maya shrugged with a smiling chuckle. "Sorry, I can't help it. I'm an Otami, stealth is in my blood." The young Otami stated. Nina shook her head smiling as she turned to continue walking. Maya kept following.

"So, where are we going?" Maya had asked again after awhile. Nina was silent for a few seconds. "I just want to check on something." She said. They were now at the heart of the ship and the interior had shifted from mostly wood to mostly metal. They were approaching a big metal door and Nina turned to the following Otami. "If you want to follow, then please do not touch anything." She said. "Fine, I won't touch anything." The young Otami said as she puffed out her cheeks. Nina couldn't help but giggle at that. Opening the door, a giant room with a lot of machinery was seen. Maya looked astonished at it all. "This is the ships reactor, it powers everything on the ship." Nina explained to the Otami who had stars in her eyes. A clanking filled the air before Diesel appeared around the corner of one of the machines. "Nina, Maya, what brings you two down here?" The mech asked. Maya gave a big grin. "Just following Nina around is why I'm here." The young Otami said with a chuckle. Nina looked a little uneasy. "I... I wanted to look at the Black Diamond." She stated. Before Diesel could question why, she continued. "I've been thinking, back on my world there was a legend… a legend of ancient artifacts that caused the spark of war in my world and tore the kingdoms apart. This treasure we're seeking, the more I think on it, the more it reminds me of the legendary artifacts of my world." The nightfright confessed. Diesel didn't know how to reply to this, while Maya seemed concerned. Diesel turned and began walking. "Let us see the Black Diamond then." He stated.

After a bit of walking, the group approached a wall with a keypad. Upon putting in a code, a small part of the wall split open to reveal a sort of containment chamber with the dark gem resting on a ring shaped device of sorts. "The Black Diamond of Umbrae Mundi..." Nina said as she touched the glass of the chamber. "Could it really be one of the legendary artifacts of my world?" She questioned. Maya closed her eyes in thought. "There are many realms of existence. Some have universal constants known as parallels, some do not. There is a chance that the relics of this world could be the artifacts of yours." The young Otami said. Nina seemed lost in thought as she stared at the Black Diamond. "What was it known as in your world Nina?" Diesel asked. Nina took a moment's thought before answering. "The Nightstone of Evil Realms. It was said to hold the darkest parts of reality within it." She said a bit somberly. Diesel let out a hum. "Sounds like the Black Diamond all right." Before much else could be said a crackle was heard. "All crew on deck right now!" Neko's voice was heard loudly over some speakers. "Arthur really should've tested the volume of those before installing them." Diesel muttered. He then turned to Nina and Maya. "Go on ahead, I gotta get Remmy." He said before running off. Nina and Maya quickly made their exit and headed to the ship's deck.


	4. Blue Flames Atop The Mountain

Maya and Nina quickly made their way to the deck of The Grand Crimson after Neko's urgent call. Upon arriving, a harsh cold wind caught them off guard. "Wh-where are we?" Maya asked as she wrapped her feathered wings around herself to keep warm. Looking at the sea there was a lot of icebergs floating around in the raging waves. The sky was dark with bright flashes of light within it. A crashing explosion was heard to the side of the ship and Nina turned to see Ethan sending out bursts of magic at the closer icebergs. "Nina!" She heard Yoshi call. Turning toward the helm, she saw Yoshi was struggling to keep control of the wheel due to the strong waves. "We need to get rid of the icebergs around us!" The pirate stated. With a nod, Nina turned toward Maya. "Get below deck, and make sure Wendy's safe." The nightfright ordered before immediately running to the edge of the ship summoning her wings. The frigid air felt harsh, but Nina did her best to ignore it and keep the icebergs from getting too close. A massive wave soon rolled under The Grand Crimson raising it high up. On the descent from the giant wave, an iceberg caught them off guard. Those on the deck could only watch in horror as they were on a crash course with the chunk of ice. Moments before impact, a streak of energy blasted it apart. "Who the hell cranked the AC to max out here?!" Remmy shouted as Diesel lowered his gun arm. The crew then braced themselves for the leveling out of the ship after the giant wave passed. Yoshi gave a swear as he steeled his grip on the helm. "We're approaching the heart of Gravefrost Waters, one of the coldest regions of Gaia!" Yoshi called over the harsh icy winds. "Yeah, I figured!" Remmy said as he had Diesel blast another iceberg. "Guessing the second relic is somewhere at Gravefrost Glacier then? Terrific! Next stop, Gaia's BIGGEST ICEBOX!" The zurg complained.

~ Ch.4: Blue Flames Atop The Mountain

After hours of battling the icy storm churned waters and more close calls than the crew were comfortable with, land was finally spotted. "Landmass dead ahead!" Neko shouted from atop the crow's nest. He then looked back toward the land and didn't like what he was seeing. They were approaching at an alarming rate due to the strong wind pulling the ships sails. He took a second to think of any options before calling to the captain. "Yoshi, get us in the air on the double!" He shouted. After seeing how fast they were approaching land, Yoshi didn't hesitate. He gave a twist to one of the wheels spokes and pressed the revealed button to engage The Grand Crimsons flight system. Land was swiftly closing in with no time to turn or lower the sails. After the flight console rose up and locked in place, Yoshi wasted no time in firing up the thrusters along the bottom of the ship. The ship began rising from the water just a moment too late. The edges of the landmass clipped the back hull of the ship before it could rise beyond its reach. The ship was dragged downward and skid across the iced over land. Snow and ice were thrown through the air. Everyone on board grasped hold of anything they could as the ship harshly shook from its landing. The Grand Crimsons momentum, increased from the strong wind in its sails, dragged it far along the ice and it soon skid over a short hill before jolting to a halt entirely.

A fog of ice and snow hung in the air as Yoshi clutched his aching head. Looking around him he couldn't see a thing through the surrounding fog. "Hey, is everyone alright?" He called. A variety of mumbles and groans were heard in response. "Not the greatest of landings but I have been through worse." The voice of Remmy called through the fog. "Scans show everyone present and accounted for on board. So nobody fell off at least." Diesel informed. "Speak for yourself!" Neko called sounding a little panicked by something. "You ok Neko?" Ethan called. The feline gave a nervous chuckle. "I'm uh... hanging in there." He said. An irritated growl was soon heard. "Grrr, screw this damn fog! I can't see a damn thing!" Remmy roared. A clanking sound soon filled the air before a mechanical whirring took its place. The air soon began clearing from the ship's deck, which revealed Diesel in his drill mode blowing the icy fog away. "Way to go Diesel and Remmy!" Ethan cheered with a thumbs up. Diesels drill soon gave off a sputtering noise before grinding to a halt which Ethan faltered at. "Oh boy, that doesn't sound good." Remmy stated as he had Diesel transform back to his default form. The mech seems to have some difficulty with it as well. "Oh my gosh!" Nina exclaimed drawing the group's attention. They turned to her, then to where she was staring. "Oh, I see what you meant by 'hanging in there' now." Ethan said as he observed Neko's predicament. The feline was hanging from the crow's nest by his foot, which was wrapped up in some ropes that usually surrounded the area. "Just someone get me down, please." The feline pleaded in distress.

It didn't take long for Nina to fly up and help Neko get unstuck and back on the floor. "That was terrifying." The feline stated with a relieved sigh. Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just shadowtravel down to the ground?" He asked. Neko was silent for a few seconds before facepalming. "Ya'know, it's kind of hard to think of the simple things when you have all your blood rushing to your brain." The feline stated as he dragged his paw down his face. At that moment, something caught his eye in the far distance. "Whoa, I wasn't imagining it!" He exclaimed as he pointed at a distant mountain peak. Everyone turned just as a blue light flickered out. "What was that?" Ethan asked as he scratched his head. "It looked like it might've been a fire, but... how could there be a fire in this place?" Nina said as she shivered. It felt like the air was getting colder and the cold chill felt like daggers on her skin. A clanking crash soon took hold of everyone's attention as they turned to Diesel. He had collapsed to the floor. "Diesel!" Everyone called out in worry as they rushed to the mech. Remmy was swearing up a storm as he was banging on the console. "We need to get Diesel inside now!" The zurg stated.

Neko quickly dragged Diesel into a shadow and brought him below deck with everyone else running to meet up with them. "What happened?" Neko asked as he brought Diesel out of the shadows. "His systems locked up from the cold. I never planned for this harsh of temperatures when putting him together!" Remmy stated. At this point the others caught up and were told what happened. Yoshi grit his teeth before turning to Neko. "Get him to the ships core room. That should be the warmest place on the ship." The pirate ordered. Neko didn't need to be told twice. He brought Diesel back into the shadows before taking off. As the shadow glided down the corridor of the ship, two figures jumped out of its way before running up to the remaining group. "What happened?/Is everyone alright?" Maya and Wendy both questioned in unison. "Most of us are ok, but Diesel's not doing so hot." Ethan stated to which Yoshi gave him a side glance. "Nice word choice there." The pirate deadpanned. He then turned to Wendy. "Diesel is being taken to the core to keep warm. His systems froze from the harsh cold outside." Yoshi informed. "Is there anything I could do?" The young mage asked. "I don't think so in this case." Ethan said as he shook his head. Wendy's ears drooped a bit. "Is he gonna be ok at least?" Maya questioned. "Remmy is with him. If he can't fix up Diesel than nobody can." Yoshi said with a thumbs up. That cheered Wendy up a bit. "But what happened anyway?" Maya asked.

Yoshi made his way above deck with Maya, Wendy, Ethan and Nina to assess the situation they were in. More of the fog had settled around the ship, revealing another dilemma. "Well shoot... you sure aimed to a great spot for the landing." Ethan said with a whistle as he looked over the ships railing. The Grand Crimson was stuck atop a hill that split into a crevasse. "Let's just be glad the ship stopped when it did. Otherwise we could have landed at the bottom." Wendy pointed out as she too looked over a rail and down to the abyss that was below the ship. Maya ruffled up her feathers a bit before wrapping her wings around herself. "Technically we could still end up down there. We just better hope the ice holding up the ship doesn't break." The young Otami stated. "Another threat as well is the strong winds." Nina stated as Yoshi moved back toward the helm. "It's calm for now but let's not forget it's a big part of what got us this far onto land." Nina continued. Meanwhile Yoshi looked along the still active flight console for something. "Ah, here it is. Watch your heads everyone." The pirate called before hitting a few buttons. The ship soon let out a creaking noise before the ships mast began lowering. Ice and frost that had built up soon broke off as the beams holding the sail began folding toward the mast as it kept on lowering into the ship. "Thank you Arthur!" Yoshi cheered as he watched the sail being stored away. He then cracked his knuckles before approaching everyone. "That should limit the danger from the winds a bit." He said with a smile. "So what now?" Ethan asked. Yoshi gazed into the distant mountain. The strange blue light had appeared again. "That mountain is probably our best bet." The pirate stated as he pointed in the mountains direction. A worried expression soon crossed his face before he began making his way below deck. "Let's all go inside. We can't plan ahead if we freeze out here." He said with a bit of a serious tone.

As the cold air quickly overtook The Grand Crimson, everyone made their way to the warmth of the ships core room. Yoshi had brought out a table and some paper to write out some calculations. "So..." the pirate began as he finished his writings. "With the severe temperature outside, we have a maximum of two days before The Grand Crimsons thrusters freeze over. After that we become just another icy hill in Gaia's biggest freezer." He informed. The rest of the crew was shocked. "Is there anything we could do to prevent that from happening?" Wendy questioned. Yoshi took a moment to think before he shook his head. "The ship does have a built in temperature regulation system, this could spread heat through the ship and keep it from freezing over... but the excess heat would slowly melt the ice outside that is holding the ship." The pirate informed as he clenched a fist. "So time is of the essence here." Ethan said. Yoshi silently nodded. "Neko, Ethan, Wendy, go get ready, we're heading out to find the relic. Everyone else stays here." The pirate ordered before he began putting on his thick pirate jacket. While the others went to get ready, Nina seemed a bit lost at the orders. "What are we supposed to do while you're all gone?" She asked. "Stay inside, stay warm, stay safe." Yoshi stated simply as he slid his arms through the jackets sleeves. "I could handle myself just fine out there!" Nina argued. Yoshi paused as he was buttoning up the jacket. "I'm not blind Nina, I could tell the cold air was affecting you." The pirate stated. Before Nina could say anything, he continued. "I could tell the cold was hurting you since we passed the icebergs, and that's why I'm having you stay here. It's only going to get colder out there and I don't want to lose anyone." Yoshi reasoned. As Yoshi's words got through to Nina, the nightfright looked aside slightly embarrassed of her outburst. "I'm sorry." She apologized. Yoshi just chuckled and pat her head. "It's ok. This is the first time I've told you to stay behind. You're just used to being a part of the adventure." The pirate said. Nina let out a sigh of defeat. "Yeah, but I guess staying behind is the best option for me right now. Right?" She said as she gave in to reason. Yoshi nodded with a sympathetic smile. "There's always the next adventure." The pirate reassured. He then left to get ready as well. The clock was ticking with no time to lose.


	5. Troubles of Snow and Ice

The sun was slowly setting on the horizon. Yoshi, Neko, Ethan and Wendy had finished preparing to head toward the mountain and were on their way outside. "Stay safe out there!" Nina called to them as they reached the door onto the deck of the ship. Yoshi turned around and gave a thumbs up. "We'll try." The pirate said as he and the others sunk into Neko's shadow. The shadow then took off into the frigid twilight. Nina sighed as she watched them leave. "Don't worry so much about them. They will be fine." Nina heard Remmy say behind her. Turning around, the nightfright saw Maya was standing at a corner with Remmy sitting on her shoulder. "They are more than capable of handling this." The zurg stated with a confident smirk. Nina couldn't help but nod in agreement. "How is Diesel holding up?" She asked in worry. The small zurg shook his head. "Still offline. Turns out using his drill mode to disperse the fog was a terrible idea. He's got a bunch of ice crystals formed in him that will take a long while to thaw out." The zurg informed making Nina more worried. "But once it does thaw he should be good as new." Remmy quickly added to try cheering up the nightfright. Nina let out a sigh before she closed the door to the deck. "Let's hope so. In the meantime, let's get out of the cold ourselves." She said as she began walking down the hall.

~ Ch.5: Troubles of Snow and Ice

Using Neko's shadowtravel, Yoshi, Neko, Ethan and Wendy had made excellent time getting to the distant mountains. They were caught off guard by a blizzard that had picked up around them. "We need to find cover soon. I can't hold this shadow much longer." Neko informed. "Leave it to me." Ethan said as he jumped out of Neko's shadow. He charged up a bit of magic before firing it at a nearby cliffside. A small cavern was carved out from the blast. "Good job, Ethan." Yoshi said as he and the others jumped out of the shadow and made their way to the cavern. Upon entering the small cavern, the group worked fast to make it a suitable rest area. The cavern opening was narrowed with packed snow and ice to keep the cold winds out while a fire was built at the back of the cavern. "Looks like it's gonna be a cold night." Neko observed as he watched the dark snowstorm outside. "Hopefully it clears by morning." Ethan said with a huff as he set up a small pot above the fire. "Now stop lazing about and help us fix this stew!" The bunny snapped as he saw the feline about to lie down. Neko let out a sigh. "No time for my cat naps I guess." He said as he got up and made his way over. "After eating I want everyone to get some sleep. I will stay on watch for if anything happens." Yoshi stated as he was cutting up some carrots into the pot. Before he knew it, he had a potato hitting his head. "Oh no, you are NOT staying up another night! You already pulled an all nighter getting us here!" Neko vehemently stated. The feline then got a flick to the ear by Ethan. "You're not staying up either. You need to rest for if we need your shadowtraveling later." The bunny stated in a strict tone. "Alright fine, you can do the stupid night watch." Neko grumbled as he rubbed his ear.

With night casting away the warmth of the daylight, temperatures swiftly began to plummet. It wasn't long before the cold air began seeping into The Grand Crimson. Many glass and metal surfaces began to glisten with frost. Running through the halls of the ship, the remaining group onboard were flipping on any light switches they passed. Once all the lights were flipped on, they began to reassemble back at the ships core room. Remmy was the first one back and Maya shortly after. "Do you really think turning on all the lights will counter the cold air?" Maya asked the zurg who proposed the plan. The small zurg shrugged with an uncertain frown. "Not by much. Most it's gonna do is buy us a few minutes of warmth outside of the core room." He then crossed his arms as he looked at the inner area of the core room. "At least it will give more work for the core and make it a bit warmer in here though." He stated with a sigh. Moments pass, a faint creaking groan then echoes through the air, making the two go on high alert. After checking their surroundings they realized it had come from elsewhere on the ship. "I do not like the sound of whatever that was." Remmy stated. Meanwhile, further below deck, Nina heard the noise as well and quickly moved to investigate.

Within the mountainside cavern, Yoshi, Neko and Wendy were resting by their campfire. Ethan stared off into the snowstorm outside the cave. He was lost in thoughts about their journey. He thought back to the battle with Nightmare, and how close to death they were. The bunny wondered, will the rest of the journey be the same? Will it get more dangerous as they went on? He was snapped out of his thoughts when a distant bellowing roar was heard. He immediately stood up and strained his eyes to see past the darkness of the snowstorm. An arcane chant was heard before a pair of glowing white eyes appeared in the darkness. Ethan quickly turned to the others. "Wake up! We have company!" He shouted in alarm. When he turned back to the snowstorm he saw the glowing eyes were closer, and there was more of them. "What's going on?" Wendy asked as she got up and rubbed her eyes. Neko mumbled a bit as he rolled over and waved his arm dismissingly. "I'm sure it's nothing that can't wait." He said groggily as he went back to sleep. Yoshi quickly made his way to the mouth of the cave at high alert. "What are those?" He asked when he saw the glowing eyes. Another distant bellowing roar was heard before the glowing eyes began closing in. Shards of ice then flew through the air toward them. "Time to move out!" Yoshi ordered. Ethan and Wendy grabbed their supplies while Yoshi sliced at the incoming ice with Brim. A swift ice chunk managed to zoom passed and shattered on the wall. Some of the ricocheting ice managed to fall into the back of Neko's shirt. The feline let out a shriek as he jumped up and danced about trying to get the assaulting ice out of his shirt. "Quit messing around Neko!" Ethan said as he swat the feline upside the head. Neko then turned toward the bunny with a face of rage. "What was that f-?!" He trailed off and drooped his ears when he saw the glowing eyes outside the cave along with Yoshi slicing down the ice they were throwing. His fur then stood on end when one set of eyes seemed to gaze straight at him as he let out a hissing shriek of fear.

Neko, Ethan and Wendy stood behind Yoshi as he kept slicing down the frozen projectiles. The glowing white eyes outside were getting closer and the barrage of ice was increasing as well. "How are we gonna get out of here?" Neko asked in panic. Ethan raised an eyebrow at the feline. "Can't you shadowtravel us out of here?" He asked. Neko turned to him with a deadpan face. "I could, if we weren't under heavy fire. We would get swiss cheesed from all of these ice shards!" He stated. Ethan was about to retort when a sudden burst of blue fire caught everyone off guard. The blue flames streamed down from above the cavern and lit up the area. The ice barrage halted as the assailants backed away from the flames. Through the flames light, they were revealed to be... "Snowmen? We're being cornered by SNOWMEN?!" Neko questioned in astonishment. Yoshi took a step back, falling into a battle stance with Brim ready to strike. "I think it's time for a counter attack." He suggested. The others nodded in agreement. Yoshi and Neko lunged forth with Ethan providing cover fire with bursts of magic. "Yo Frosty!" Neko called to one of the snowmen. It turned to the feline just as he jumped and spun in the air, landing a solid kick to the snowman's head. The snowman crumbled into a pile of snow as Neko sprinted to the next one. Yoshi was meanwhile sharing no words as he and Brim sliced through snowman after snowman. It wasn't long until they started firing ice projectiles once more. Wendy, with book of light in hand, spun her staff around before slamming it to the ground. "Radiance field!" She called as a dome of light rose from the ground to engulf the area. In the domes light, the ice projectiles vanished in wisps of white smoke. "Great work Wendy." Ethan praised as he halted his magic attacks. "The field will not last long, but they won't be able to use their projectile attacks for a while." Wendy stated. The remaining snowmen let out grumbling growls before a distant bellowing roar caught their attention. The air was then filled with arcane chanting as the snowmen melted in unison. "What... is... happening?" Neko asked as the slush of the former snowmen started drifting together. The slush started piling up more and more before starting to take shape. "Oh I do not like the look of this." Ethan stated at the sight. "I suggest you all move! You won't like the power of that thing!" A feminine voice called before another burst of blue fire streamed forth at the forming snow beast. "Neko!" Yoshi called as he turned to the feline. Neko nodded as he dived into a shadow and brought everyone else into it. The shadow then glided off up the mountain. The half formed slush pile let out a roar before giving chase.

Back aboard The Grand Crimson, Remmy was trying to get Diesel back online while Maya was pacing around. "Where is Nina? She should've been back by now." The Otami stated. "I'm sure she's on her way." Remmy said before sighing as the lights on Diesel's console only managed a flicker. He then got out of Diesel's cockpit and made his way over to Maya. "Pacing in circles like Neko when he has fish withdrawals isn't gonna help anything." The small zurg said with a light chuckle. A beeping chirp then filled the air causing Remmy and Maya to turn toward a nearby panel that was making the noise. "Why is the communications panel going off?" Remmy asked as he made his way toward it. "Maybe Yoshi and the others found the relic already and are calling to inform us." Maya guessed. "Then why not call us directly instead of calling the ship?" The zurg argued. He then pressed the answer button. "Grand Crimson, Remmy speaking." The zurg said. "Remmy, we have an emergency!" Nina's voice called through the speakers. The urgency in her voice startled the zurg and Otami. "Nina, what's happened?" Remmy asked in worry. A few cracking and creaking noises were heard over the speaker. Meanwhile in one of the lower chambers of the ship, Nina was staring in horror at the source of her worry. "We have a breach in ballast chamber 3." She informed as she stared at a giant gash in the ship's hull with a couple gargantuan spikes of ice sticking through it. A creaking groan screeched from the gash as it widened a few inches.


	6. Into The Temple of Frostair Peak

Gliding through a strong blizzard, a shadow was being chased by sentient slush and ice. "Neko, pick up the pace! That snow creature is catching up!" Ethan's voice called from the shadow. "I'm going as fast as I can!" Neko stated with a strained voice. "You're still worn out from the last shadowtravel, aren't you?" Wendy asked. Neko's shadow had glided into a batch of trees in hopes of losing the snow monster. That plan failed as the slush snapped through and knocked over the trees. It had lost no momentum and yet gained mass from the snow and debris it passed and soon bore resemblance to an avalanche going uphill toward Neko's shadow. "Neko, sharp left!" Yoshi's voice ordered. Neko didn't hesitate as he switched directions. A wide trench soon came into view and Neko knew what Yoshi was thinking. He glided full speed toward the trench with the sentient slush right behind him. "Neko! We're running out of time here!" Ethan called as the pursuing slush slowly rolled over the edges of the shadow's back. The shadow was slowly getting engulfed in the slush. "Alllmost theeere." Neko said with a strained voice. The shadow was almost completely covered as it neared the trench. "I don't wanna be buried alive!" Ethan screamed as only a sliver of the shadow kept ahead of the slush. "Hang on to your butts, this is gonna be close!" The feline called as he was about to reach the trench. Neko's shadow dived down along the wall of the trench while the slush flew across to the opposite wall. The slush flowed to the bottom of the trench with a rumbling roar. Neko waited in place until the flowing slush had all fallen down before moving to rise back over the trench. The shadow then wobbled and warped as everyone began emerging from it. "Whoa whoa whoa! Not good!" Ethan said as he grabbed Wendy and swung his cane to grab a loose root in the wall. Yoshi swung Brim into the wall dragging his descent to a halt. Neko was flailing his arms over the trenches edge trying to catch his grip on anything through the loose snow. He soon fell with a shriek into the trench, only to find his fall halted by a sharp pull on his leg. Looking up from his hanging point he saw a girl in blue holding a rope that was now tied around his leg. "You all ok down there?" She called. They recognized her voice as the one that warned them about the slush monster. "Chilled to the bone, but staying frosty." Neko joked with a relieved chuckle.

~ Ch.6: Into The Temple of Frostair Peak

Everyone was gasping for breath and sighing in relief after their rescue from the trench, especially Neko, who was laying flat on the ground and looked absolutely wiped. "Thank you, for the save and the warning about that monster." Yoshi said to their rescuer after catching his breath. "No prob, but what are you lot doing in a place like this?" The woman asked with her arms crossed behind her head. The stance brought attention to the lack of cover on her chest which everyone did their best to ignore. Yoshi cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, we were on the trail of a lost treasure when a sudden blizzard caused us to seek shelter." The pirate said. Neko sat up and gave a groan of annoyance. "And that's when Frosty's demented cousins got the drop on us." The feline stated. The woman slowly uncrossed her arms and gave a serious look. "I get the feeling you're wanting the temple that is at the top of Frostair Peak?" She inquired. Yoshi paled a bit before chuckling. "Of course it had to be at Frostair Peak. Why would it be anywhere else?" The pirate said as he facepalmed. Ethan and Wendy looked at the pirate a bit worried from his reaction. "What is Frostair Peak?" Wendy asked.

The wind howled outside The Grand Crimson. The blizzard encountered by Yoshi and the others was drifting its way closer to the area. Snow swiftly flew through the air with the galing winds. Flurries of it were thrown through the gash in the lower chamber of the ship. Nina quickly decided to retreat from the oncoming cold out of the room. After a few moments she heard a far door down the hall slam open followed by quick footsteps. Turning to the sound she saw Maya running to her with Remmy hanging onto her shoulder. "What's the damage?" Remmy urgently asked as they approached. Nina opened the door to the devastated room and Remmy swore when he saw the damage. "How the hell are we gonna fix THIS?!" He questioned, gesturing wildly at the spikes of ice. Maya hummed a few times as she inspected the ice, along with the outside of the punctured hull. She shivered from the cold and quickly backed away from the hole. "This might actually be a blessing in disguise." She said. Seeing the puzzled looks of Remmy and Nina, she continued. "I think these spikes might be what stopped the ship from advancing further into the pit below us." The Otami theorized. Remmy scratched his head before crossing his arms with a huff. "It's definitely possible, but we can't let it stay like this." The zurg stated. He then turned to Nina. "Do you think you can break this ice with your energy blasts?" He asked. The nightfright contemplated it for a couple seconds before summoning her wings. "I could try." She said as she moved forward toward the ice. She winced and hissed as the chilled air stung her skin. Ignoring the pain from the cold, she charged up an energy blast and shot it at one of the ice spikes. The spike cracked greatly from the impact as small shards broke off. Not even a second after that hit, The Grand Crimson gave a sudden jolt as loud creaking and groaning filled the air. The ship shook as the gash in the hull widened and grew an unsettling amount. As the gash grew, the spikes slid a ways across the room before everything halted to a stop. The group, who had all fallen to the floor from the shaking, got up and stared in shock at the ice spikes. Remmy gulped in fear and swore under his breath. "This does not bode well at all..."

Yoshi and the others had made their way around the mountain, trailing their way to the next. "You cannot seriously be heading to Frostair Peak! It's the deadliest area around here!" The woman who saved them warned. Yoshi chuckled. "Adventure fears no danger!" He replied. The woman growled in annoyance. Ethan patted her on the shoulder. "This isn't our first time heading headfirst into danger." The bunny stated. Neko gave her a side glance. "If you're so afraid of the area, why are you following us?" He asked before walking ahead. He then turned around and walked backwards. "Who are you anyways?" The feline questioned. The woman sighed in defeat knowing she wouldn't talk the group out of their journey. "The name's Izzy. I'm a fire mage training to harness my power to its fullest." She introduced herself. She then leaned forward slightly and gave a smiling wink to Neko. "I'm also known as the Blue Blaze Babe." She stated with a light chuckle. Neko gave a nonchalant shrug as he turned around to walk forward. He then gave a halfhearted wave. "Neko." He casually introduced. Izzy's smile faulted as her attempt at light flirting went unnoticed. Ethan couldn't help but grin and chuckle. "I am Ethan, this little one here is Wendy and our fearless leader is Yoshi." Ethan said as he gestured to each person. "I wouldn't call myself fearless. I just have the bravery to challenge most of my fears." Yoshi stated before donning a serious face. "That said, I have quite a bit of fear from what I've heard of Frostair Peak." He said with a grim expression. "What's so bad about Frostair Peak? Besides the desolate location and all that." Neko asked with a raised brow. "You know those snowmen that attacked you guys?" Izzy asked. Neko turned to her with his eyebrow still raised. "Yeah?" He said in an unsure voice. He felt his fur sticking up just thinking about them. "They are the lost souls of past victims to the area." Izzy stated. Neko nearly choked as he tried not to shriek at the thought.

Light began shining over the mountain peaks and Yoshi swore under his breath. "We have to hurry." He urged to the others as he picked up his pace. "What's the rush? We're almost there anyways." Izzy asked as she once more had her arms crossed behind her head. "Our ship is caught in the cold and if we don't hurry it'll freeze over." Neko stated as he scratched inside his ear. He could swear he heard something. He paused his walking as he heard it again. "Everybody hold still." He called. The group obeyed as his ears perked up. He scanned the area as he strained his ears to hear what caught his attention. Ethan had perked up his ears as well. There was a vaguely familiar sound. He swore when he recognized it. "It's that chanting from the snowmen!" He informed. Everyone gasped in shock. "The temple is just over this ledge, let's hurry!" Izzy said as she pointed ahead. The group ran forward as the snow around them began to shift and move. A bellowing roar sounded from ahead causing Neko to halt in fear. "Oh boy, I do not like that sound." Ethan grabbed the felines arm and pulled him along as the group swiftly approached the ledge. Once they reached the ledge, a shallow crater of ice filled with cracks, ice pillars and arches came into view. In the center of the crater sat a massive structure made of frosted ice. "That's the temple!" Izzy stated before an ice shard flew by her. She yelped in surprise before the group turned to see a dozen snowmen rising out of the ground like zombies. "Let's go!" Yoshi called as he turned and jumped down the ledge onto the ice. The others followed his lead and hopped down the ledge into the crater. The ground was frozen solid making them all slide down the slope at rapidly increasing speed.

Yoshi slid across the ice with ease as he shifted his weight to steer himself around any obstacles. Ethan slid over the ice with relative ease as well. He also had Wendy on his back so she wouldn't get separated from them on the ice. Izzy used her blue flames to burst herself through the air in various flips over the terrain. Neko meanwhile was spinning about with his claws dragging along the ice as he failed to maintain his balance. "This is one of the most ridiculous things we've ever done!" He shouted as he flailed his arms in an attempt to stop his uncontrolled slipping and sliding. Yoshi turned toward Izzy as she landed beside him. "Izzy, is there anything we need to know about this temple?" He asked to which Izzy shrugged. "I've avoided this area up till now. I'm as clueless as you guys are about it." She stated before a look of concern crossed her face. "Although I do know that occasional roaring sound comes from inside." She informed. "You mean we have a final boss to fight!" Neko yelled as he slid passed. Yoshi rolled his eyes. "For the last time Neko, we are NOT in a video game." Yoshi stated. "Well it certainly seems like it at times!" Neko turned to yell to Yoshi. He didn't see the ice arch he was heading toward until he looped around inside it. He yelped as he fell from the top of it onto his rear and continued sliding along. "Would that be a failed quick time event than?" Ethan shouted to the feline with a chuckle as he slid by. "Quiet you!" Neko snapped as he shook a fist. He then stared ahead toward the temple before his fur stood on end. "Hey Yoshi... how are we getting in the temple?" The feline asked. Yoshi turned to him with a confused frown. "What do you mean?" The pirate inquired. Neko gestured wildly at the temple as he also tried to keep control of his slipping and sliding. "Where's the door?!" The feline asked in panic. Yoshi turned his gaze to the temple and realized that there were indeed no doors to be seen. He swore as he dragged Brim along the ice to slow himself down. The others tried slowing their approach down as well however they could. "There's a way in!" Wendy shouted as she pointed to a high up hole in the temples side. It looked like a partially collapsed wall. "How are we all gonna get up there?" Izzy asked. "We better think of something quick. We're about to be stuck between a temple and a snow grave." Neko said as he looked back where they came from. The snowmen were still after them. Wendy looked to Neko and thought of an idea. She then closed her eyes and focused, building up a bit of light magic. She then took out her staff and raised it up. Neko began shining as an aura surrounded him. He felt energy flowing through him, and once the aura faded, he immediately dived into a shadow before swiftly gliding to everyone else. Once they were all brought into the shadow, he darted toward the temple, entering the collapsed wall.


	7. Glacialis Magica

Rumbling groans and creaks echoed over the snow and ice of Gravefrost Glacier. The Grand Crimson was slowly sliding forward into the crevasse below it. A metallic thud echoed within the ship as its sliding halted once more. The group within the ship, who had once more fallen to the ground from the shaking, began getting back up to their feet. "I told you blasting the ice again was a bad idea." Maya said as she rubbed her shoulder. Nina sighed as she got to her feet. "I will admit, it was a stupid idea." The nightfright said. "But what else can we do?! Even if we get that relic, how are we getting out of here with the ice puncturing the hull?!" Remmy fumed as he gestured wildly at the ice. It had moved all the way across the chamber to the far wall, which presumably stopped its advance through the hull. "Even still, how will we sail anyway with the hole in the ship?" Maya pointed out. "Just because it can't sail doesn't mean it can't still fly you know." Remmy deadpanned. "We takeoff as it's blasted." A voice suggested from across the room. Everyone turned in shock and saw Diesel leaning against the door. "Diesel, you're awake!" Remmy cheered with a smile as he and the others ran toward the mech. Diesel shook a bit as he let go of the door. He grabbed back hold of the door as he almost collapsed. "Systems running at 25%, but still operational." The mech informed causing Remmy to spaz a bit. "Than what are you doing out here? You should be back in the core room where you could stay warm!" The zurg stated. Diesel silently gazed at the far wall and scanned it. "That wall won't hold the ice for long. Structural integrity is at 90% and dropping." He informed. "What can we do about it though? We've tried breaking it but that just made the situation worse!" Remmy said, wanting to pull his non-existent hair out. Diesel chuckled. "There's always a way when you work together." The mech stated. The others were silent for a few seconds before Remmy laughed. "So, what's the game plan then?"

~ Ch.7: Glacialis Magica

Within the temple of ice, the walls sparkled with a faint unnatural blue glow. A sudden outburst of shouts and thuds echoed through the air. "Well, that shadowtravel was short lived." Neko's voice called from the bottom of a pile of bodies. Everyone groaned in mild pain as they moved to get back up. "Sorry, I wasn't able to focus enough to heal much of your stamina." Wendy apologized as she dusted herself off. "It was some good quick thinking though. We made it into the temple instead of being flattened against it." Ethan said as he stretched his shoulder. "Speaking of being flattened." Yoshi said as he helped Neko up. "What is with my luck lately?" The feline whined. "You're luck could've been worse you know." Yoshi said as he pat Neko on the back. "That shadowtravel could've given out before we made it in here." The pirate stated. Yoshi's attention was then brought to his sword, which was shaking frantically. "Brim, what's wrong?" He questioned as he turned to his weapon. "I feel powerful energy flowing throughout this place. Stay on guard." Brim warned. "No way." Ethan's voice was heard from across the room. Everyone turned and saw him with his paw against the wall, he had a look of disbelief on his face. "These walls..." He began as he slid his paw across the walls surface. "They're made of glacialis magica." He stated in awe. "Glacia what now?" Izzy asked with a raised brow. "Glacialis magica, frozen magic." Yoshi said as he swiftly approached and observed the nearest wall to him. "Aaand that's special or something?" Izzy asked in confusion. Ethan spazzed and stuttered for a couple seconds. "Glacialis magica is one of thee rarest forms raw magic could be formed into! It takes immense power to freeze just a small amount of raw magic, and we're standing in an entire temple of it!" The bunny franticly stated. "Hmph, that explains the powerful energy I feel. Let's hope whatever created it isn't still here." Brim said. Everyone nodded in agreement as they began making their way deeper into the temple.

The group explored the depths of the temple with no luck in finding anything. After a few minutes they entered into a long hallway. Izzy sighed. "So, what are we even looking for in this temple again?" She asked as she twirled a ball of blue fire on her fingertip. She waved her hand and dismissed the flame as Yoshi turned to her. "A piece to an ancient relic. At first we began hunting it down for the adventure but once we found the first piece, we learned there was much more on the line." He said somberly, gazing at the ground. Izzy was a bit perplexed at that but decided not to pry about it further. A sudden roar echoed through the temple that halted everyone in their tracks. A bright glow washed over the walls of the hall. The glow revealed various glyphs and runes as it traveled over them. "Oh boy, this smells like trouble." Neko said as everyone backed away from the walls. Slivers of ice formed from the glyphs and runes before shooting out. "RUN!" Yoshi ordered as everyone rushed to the other end of the hall. They all swiftly ducked and weaved around the projectiles as they made their escape out of the hall. Another roar echoed through the air before a slab of ice began sliding down at the end of the hall. "You cannot be serious!" Neko yelled in panic. Yoshi drew forth Brim and held out his hand. "Everybody hang tight to each other!" He ordered. Everyone grabbed each other's hands, then Yoshi swung Brim forward. "Glide as fast as you can Brim!" The pirate ordered. He then felt the blade pull strongly forward. Everyone slid swiftly over the icy floor with the animated blade pulling them along. "Everyone down!" Yoshi called as he and the others ducked on approach to the hallways end. They managed to slide under the ice slab just before it slammed against the floor.

The loud thud from the now sealed passageway echoed around the temple, along with various screams and shouts. Yoshi and the others had escaped one deathtrap into another. They were now falling down a sloped tunnel of ice. With quick thinking, Yoshi threw Brim ahead of them and he dug into the wall of the tunnel. Yoshi then landed on the flat side of the blade before catching Izzy and Ethan, who was holding Wendy. Izzy then reached out and grabbed Neko as he slid by. The added weight of everyone landing made Brim slide a ways down the tunnels wall. "Is everyone alright?" Yoshi asked in a strained voice as he held on to everyone. Everyone but Neko gave affirmative nods and remarks. Neko meanwhile was whimpering. "I don't think Neko is alright." Izzy observed. "My tail..." The feline whimpered. "What's wrong with your tail?" Ethan asked. In the position everyone was in, they couldn't get a good look at it. Brim then dragged lower down the wall. He was beginning to tilt downward as well. Yoshi swore when he noticed it. "We need a plan, quick!" He shouted. "I feel air on the other side of this wall, there must be an empty room there." Brim stated. Ethan chuckled. "And how are we supposed to get there. Glacialis magica is near unbreakable. Only reason you could cut through is because you're animated." Ethan informed. Neko took a deep breath to cease his whimpering. "I... I could try another shadowtravel. That could get us through the crack Brim has made." The feline said. Wendy shook her head. "It's too risky. You've exhausted yourself beyond your limits already. If you push yourself much more you might hurt yourself!" The young mage warned. "It's our only option right now." Neko stated. He then took another deep breath before sinking into a shadow. He then brought everyone else in and entered the crack into the other side of the wall.

The group once more found themselves in a pile as Neko's shadowtravel gave out. "Really could use some warning on these landings." Izzy said as she got up and stretched her sore back. "I'm doing my best." Neko whined, once more at the bottom of the pile. Everyone else stood up and Wendy noticed something. "Neko, you've got ice in your tail!" She exclaimed as she rushed to examine it. The ice sliver went right through his tail. "It must be from that hall where they were firing at us." Ethan said before observing the room they were in. It was a relatively plain and small room with an entry to a hall on one side and another room on the other. Ethan moved to check them out while the others made sure Neko was alright. "We need to get this ice out before I could heal him." Wendy stated. "It hurts enough just being there. It's probably gonna hurt like hell pulling it out." Neko lamented. "I'll pull it out on the count of three. Alright?" Yoshi said. "Oh no, I am not falling for the count to three bit! You're just gonna pull it out on two or -YOW!" Neko began ranting. He was interrupted by a sharp pain in his tail as Yoshi pulled out the ice. "You can be pretty evil when you want to be. You know that?" Neko said through grit teeth with a glare at Yoshi. Meanwhile Wendy took the opportunity to heal Neko's tail. "Well the ice is out now, right?" The pirate said with a chuckle. Brim gave a sudden jolt of surprise at something. "I feel a great power nearby!" Before anyone could ask, a sudden loud roar shook the air around everyone. "We have trouble!" Ethan's voice called from the next room. Everyone ran through the entryway to the next room. It was a gigantic room with glowing runes and glyphs. Magic was flooding into the area, whipping through the air in a cyclone fashion. In the center of the room sat a monolith of ice that was molding into a humanoid shape. "This is a dire situation indeed." Brim stated as he sensed all the magical energy converging into the shifting ice. Once the monolith of ice had finished its transformation, a giant golem of ice had taken its place. The golem then let out an all too familiar roar.

At the helm of The Grand Crimson, Nina held tight to the wheel. "Alright, I'm ready to go." The nightfright said over the coms to Diesel. The mech stood in front of the spike of ice that pierced the hull. The wall it was pressing against had begun to crack. It was now or never. The mech raised his gun toward the ice and fired the shot, blasting the spike to pieces. The Grand Crimson immediately gave a jolt as it was released from the hold of the ice. As the ship began sliding forward into the crevasse below it, Nina tried firing up the bottom thrusters. Warning lights began flashing on the ships console as the ship shook violently. "Something's wrong, some of the thrusters aren't starting up!" Nina exclaimed. Diesel swore as he ran a scan of the ship. There were various extreme cold spots along the bottom of the ship, some where the thrusters were. "Diesel, you can't go out there in your condition." Remmy warned when he saw the scans. Without a word, Diesel approached and jumped through the hole in the hull. He engaged his flight form and zoomed along the bottom of the ship. "Keep trying to start the thrusters. Remmy and I will see what we could do." The mech called through the coms. "Good luck." Nina replied. Zooming along the bottom of the ship, ice was seen all across it. "There's ice everywhere! We have to clear it from the thrusters fast!" Remmy panicked. Diesel plotted a quick flight course along the ships thrusters surrounded by cold spots and accelerated. Upon approach to each thruster he fired a shot to shatter the ice. As more thrusters were free of ice, the ship began rising off from the crevasse. "Alright, that was the last thruster." Remmy called as he steered Diesel upward. A sputtering crash was heard before the right rocket on Diesel's back blew out. Remmy swore as he attempted to maintain control. Diesel quickly transformed back to his default form as he went on a crash course with the side of The Grand Crimson. He fired a shot at the hull and crashed through the resulting hole. After crash landing back on board, something caught his sensors. With some slight difficulty, he got to his feet to make his way to the helm. He sent Nina a message. "Nina, once clear of the ice, set course for Frostair Peak, I'm picking up some strong energy."


	8. Glacialis Guardian

Deep in the heart of the temple of Frostair Peak, howling gusts of magical wind ripped through the central chamber. Yoshi and the others could barely see or move through the galing force. They could only watch as a monolithic beast of magic and ice took form before them. As its transformation finished it let out the same roar that's been heard since they arrived. "This must be what's been controlling all those snowmen and traps!" Izzy shouted over the beasts roar. "It must be some sort of guardian!" Ethan said as the gusting magic winds started dissipating. Yoshi drew forth Brim, ready to strike. "If it's behind all that than I'm just gonna have some words with it." The pirate stated before charging forth. Something caught Ethan's attention about the beast. "Yoshi, don't!" He tried warning. Too late, Yoshi had swung Brim at the beast. With a solid clang, he was then sent back with great recoil. "Damn, this guy is solid!" The pirate shouted. A sudden crackling caught his attention and he looked down at Brim. With a gasp of shock, he saw ice forming on the blade. "Brim! Are you alright?" Yoshi franticly asked. All that was heard from the blade was a low hum as the ice spread across it. Brim's runes then began to turn a bright blue.

~ Ch.8: Glacialis Guardian

Yoshi didn't know what to do. His best weapon and ally was being engulfed by ice. In desperation he ran toward the nearest wall and smashed Brim against it, attempting to shatter the ice. It had no effect as the ice continued to spread across the blade. "Come on. Break, you stupid chunk of ice!" The pirate said as he swung the blade once more. "Yoshi, it's no use! That ice is made of glacialis magica, just like everything else here!" Ethan called. The pirate kept trying to break the ice off. He swung the blade once more at the wall, only for Brim to halt mid swing. Yoshi was stunned when he felt Brim tugging away from him. "Brim, what are you doing?" Yoshi asked. A rumbling roar tore through the air, reminding the pirate of the danger standing before the group. With Yoshi's moment of distraction, Brim slipped out of his hands. "Brim!" The pirate exclaimed, reaching for the blade as it flew wildly through the air. "Ok, this is definitely not good!" Neko panicked as he saw Brim going berserk. The Monolith of ice let out another roar... and Brim halted, before darting right into the golem's clutches. The ice encasing Brim suddenly smoothed across the blade, while the blue glow from his runes spread down to the tip. Neko swore loudly as the golem gave a swing of the transformed blade. "We are so dead!" He exclaimed.

There was no time to think. The golem had Brim under its control and was on a warpath. The group had jumped in separate directions after the golem's last strike. "Hey popsicle, are you even trying to hit us?" Ethan taunted, drawing all attention from the golem to him. He ran further from the group, giving them an opportunity to regroup and plan. "What can we do against this thing? And how'd it take control of Brim?!" Neko frantically asked. Wendy rubbed her chin in thought. "Uncle Ethan said it was made of glacialis magica... and it was its roars we heard whenever a trap or one of those snowmen appeared. Maybe... this golem can control the glacialis magica around it!" The young mage theorized. "But how can we break its hold of control?" Yoshi asked as he stared at the golem. Neko gave the pirate a pat on the shoulder. "We'll find a way to get Brim back. I know we will." He reassured. "Hey!" Izzy's voice called the group. They turned to her and saw her looking at the far side of the chamber. "With all the shades of blue here, this spot here is standing out a bit." She said, pointing toward a spot high up on the far wall. It looked like a quarter circle stone tablet with a strange rune in its deep red colored middle. "That must be the relic!" Neko said as he moved to approach it. He halted as the golem and Ethan passed the path to it. Izzy let out a growl of annoyance. "You guys get the relic, I'll lend that bunny a hand." She said as she got fired up and dashed toward the golem.

Ethan was beginning to tire a bit from dodging the golem's strikes. He didn't realize he had dived into a corner until he felt the wall against his back. He swore when he realized it and turned to the golem that was about to strike. He was stunned when a blue fireball suddenly took the golem off guard, knocking it off balance. Ethan took the moment to sprint passed before the golem regained its footing. It turned and let out a screech of anger before another fireball hit it in the face. "Leave the bunny honey alone you overgrown ice cube!" Izzy shouted at the golem. Ethan's eye twitched. "Bunny honey?" He asked. Neko could be heard laughing in the background. Izzy kept the barrage of flames going, but the golem was no longer being caught off guard. It began using the ice covered Brim to block the flames. Izzy let loose a stream of fire, but it too seemed to hold no effect on the golem. Ethan noticed it wasn't moving while it blocked the flames. "Izzy, keep it up while I strike it from behind." The bunny said. "Alright, just hurry. I can't keep these flames going forever." Izzy stated. Ethan sprinted full speed behind the golem before jumping high up onto the wall. He then jumped full force away from the wall before flipping midair and landing a solid kick to the golem's neck. The icy monolith staggered from the hit and its guard fell, letting the onslaught of flames hit its mark.

Yoshi and the other's had made it to the far wall of the chamber. They now had to figure out how to get up to the relic. "How are we gonna get up there? I'm too weak to manage another shadowtravel." Neko stated. "I could try healing your stamina a bit, but if you push yourself much more..." Wendy began saying. "Yeah yeah yeah I know, I could seriously hurt myself. But how can we... Yoshi what are you doing?" Neko asked as he saw the pirate approach the wall. He observed it for a few seconds. There were runes and sigils carved into the wall. He reached out and felt how deep they were carved before taking hold and pulling himself up. "Yoshi, are you crazy?" Neko asked as he saw him climbing the wall. "Any other ideas?" The pirate paused his climbing to ask, after which the feline went quiet. Yoshi then continued his climb. Upon reaching the relic he swore at what he saw. "It's behind a layer of ice!" He called to the others. A crashing rumble caught the pirate's attention and he looked to the side of the chamber. Ethan had just delivered a hard hit to the golem, leaving it staggering as Izzy blasted a stream of blue flames at it. An idea struck. "Hey ice pop!" Yoshi called to the golem. "I'm over here slush for brains!" He called again. "Yoshi what the hell are you thinking!" Neko panicked as he saw the golem's gaze drift toward them. "Are you a mighty iceberg or a weak little snowcone?!" Yoshi continued taunting the golem. He had positioned himself right over the relic. "Come at me Frosty, unless you don't have the snowballs for it!" The pirate taunted further. The golem let out a roar as it began charging toward Yoshi. Yoshi held his position until the golem was about to reach him. He then swung to the side right before the golem crashed into the wall.

Ice and frost hung in the air after the golem collided with the wall. A clanging was heard as the relic bounced along the floor. It soon was picked up by Yoshi, who gave a sigh of relief. "Can't believe that worked." He said as he looked at the relic in his hands. "You are truly a crazy maniac sometimes. You do know that, right?" Neko asked with a cough as he breathed in some of the frost in the air. He waved his hand trying to clear the air around his face. "Did you get the relic?" Ethan asked as he and Izzy approached. Yoshi smirked as he raised up the relic. "It's right here." He said. Ethan nodded. "Good, now let's get out of here before..." The bunny began. A terrible roar tore through the air causing everyone to cover their ears. Magic once more gusted through the room like a typhoon. "I think you made it mad!" Neko shouted over the gusting winds. The sigils and runes along the walls lit up before frost began to form and condensed. The room was now filled with snow that began moving. "Oh not these guys again!" Neko shouted as the snow formed into the snowmen from before. "Any more plans?" Ethan asked Yoshi. The pirate shook his head. "I'm afraid not." He said. The room shook as the golem reappeared, stomping through the wall it had collided through.


	9. Blazing Fury

Yoshi and the others were surrounded. Snowmen formed all around them while the golem growled in anger. Yoshi's eyes darted around the area as the pirate was attempting to think of a plan. His gaze fell on the monolithic golem once more. "We need to find a way to crush this guy." Yoshi said to the others. "Take out the puppet master and the puppets fall. Smart thinking." Ethan said with a smirk. "But how are we gonna beat that thing?" Neko questioned with worry. "Is there even a way to beat it?" Izzy doubtfully asked. Yoshi's gaze fell to the blade in the golems grasp. "There has to be. We will find a way." Yoshi said with resolve. Once all the snowmen had formed, the golem let out another roar. The snowmen's eyes glowed as ice slivers materialized from them and fired.

~ Ch.9: Blazing Fury

Everyone was put on the defensive under the onslaught of ice. All they could do at this point was dodge the frozen projectiles. "We need an opening to counter!" Ethan said as he spun his cane around, knocking projectiles out of the air. "Counter how? We're surrounded and they have us on the ropes!" Neko shouted as he ducked and weaved around some ice. "I could take them if I had more firepower. I'm beginning to hit my limits." Izzy said as she shot fire against any nearing ice. Wendy, who had a light shield protecting her from the projectiles, nodded with a plan. "Uncle Ethan, guard me while I heal Izzy!" The young mage said. Ethan wasted no time dashing to her. He struck down any ice that came close. When the area was safer, Wendy dismissed her shield and began focusing a spell. She raised up her staff as the spell was complete, but a sliver of ice made it passed Ethan and hit her staff out of her hands. She gave a yelp of pain as she held her hand. "Wendy! Are you alright?" Ethan asked in worry. "I'm fine. The ice just grazed my fingers a bit." Wendy assured. She then looked around for her staff. She couldn't see it. "Where did my staff go?" She yelped in shock. Without her staff, Wendy was defenseless. The group all raised their awareness on their surroundings. "There it is!" Yoshi called. He had spotted Wendy's staff, but it was right beside a couple of the snowmen. He took a deep breath to focus before darting in that direction. He ducked and weaved through the projectiles, but halfway there he was struck in the side by a sliver of ice. He let out a hiss of pain as he grasped his side. His eyes widened as he realized something wrong. He had put the relic in a pocket right there, but he couldn't feel the relic! "The relic's gone!" He called. "I see it!" Izzy shouted as she dived toward it. She picked up the relic and its rune began to glow.

Nobody knew what was happening. Izzy picked up the relic, and a bright glow filled the room. When the glow faded, Izzy was engulfed in twisting red and blue flames. The relic seemed to become attached to her outfit. "Whoa..." She said in awe as she looked at her hands. She felt incredible power coursing through her. A roar filled the air and she turned to the golem, who's been standing aside while the snowmen were all launching ice. As the golem moved forward, the barrage of ice lessened. "So that's why you've just been standing around." Izzy said to the golem with a smirk. "It's taking quite a bit of focus to control all these snow puppets, isn't it?" She asked. With the barrage of ice lightened, the group had found their opening. Yoshi made his way to Wendy's staff and tossed it back to her. With her staff back, Wendy focused on a spell and raised it high. Everyone glowed a bit as they felt their stamina and health returning. With that healing spell done, the flames surrounding Izzy exploded outward as she felt her energy rise. She crossed her arms in front of herself and began rising into the air. She then spread her arms out and the surrounding flames burst away from her. Everyone flinched when the fires passed them, but the flames felt cool and did no harm to them while the snowmen all melted. "Huh, neat." Was all Neko could say. Another roar brought everyone's attention back to the golem, he was mad, and no longer had the snowmen holding his focus back.

Once more, the mighty golem let out a roar. The air around it became filled with frost as the temperature began to drop. "We need to be quick. Any colder in here and we'll all freeze." Ethan stated. Izzy scoffed. "Speak for yourself. I'm feeling fired up." She said as she clenched her fists. "You all stand back. I'll take him on." The fire manipulator said. "Be careful, don't lose control to the relic's power." Yoshi warned, recalling how powerful Nightmare was with the black diamond. Izzy gave a nod before channeling the energy of the fires around her. She threw her hands forward and the fire streamed forth. With a roar and a step forward, the golem forced the cold air to shield it. Gusts of wind exploded out as the fires collided with the cold air. Izzy and the golem then dashed to strike each other. Izzy focused some flames into orbs around her fists that she used to punch while the golem blocked with the still frozen Brim. The ice cracked slightly with each strike. The golem gave a forward shove as Izzy once more stuck. Izzy got pushed back and the golem glanced at the frozen blade. The ice stitched itself back together along the cracks. Izzy noticed this and focused more fire into her fists. "That blade's not yours. It's time for a defrost!" She stated as she brought her hands together and fired an intense stream of flames at the golem. The golem once more blocked with Brim, but the heat from the flames penetrated the defense. With hisses of steam, the ice engulfing the blade began cracking and crumbling. The golem gave one last roar of defiance and the air around it exploded in frost.

Once more the air was filled with an explosion of frosty fog. "What happened?" Neko asked with a few coughs from the frosted air. "I think the golem still had some tricks up its frozen sleeves." Yoshi said. The frost in the air slowly began clearing away, revealing the devastation of the flames. The golem had collapsed to the ground. Half of its face along with most of its arms and legs had melted away and steam was billowing from its surface. A clanking was heard as its remaining hand crumbled. Brim had fallen out of its grasp and was free of the ice. A groaning grumble emitted from the blade. "Can someone please turn on the heater?" Brim griped. Yoshi cautiously approached the blade. "Brim, are you alright?" The pirate asked. "Besides the fact I feel like an iceberg fell on me, I believe so." The blade said as he rose up into the air and returned onto Yoshi's back. "Glad to have you back." Yoshi said with a smile. Another clanking sound caught his attention. Looking up he saw Izzy had collapsed and the relic had detached from her. The group swiftly approached her to make sure she was ok. "She's fine, just exhausted." Wendy diagnosed. Yoshi chuckled. "I bet she is. Anyone would be after a battle like that." The pirate stated. "What happened anyway? Why did the relic suddenly give her a giant power boost?" Neko asked. Ethan scratched his chin in thought before picking up the relic and inspecting it. "I've seen this rune before, it's a rune that represents the element of fire. Perhaps the relic resonated with her affinity for fire magic." The bunny stated. After a moment of quiet, Neko stretched and clapped his paws together. "Alright, so who wants to get out of this dump? Shadowtravel express is ready to go." He said with a grin. Wendy gave him a glare. "You're not shadowtraveling. Not after burning up so much stamina with the shadowtravels you already done." She stated. Neko summoned his cane and gave it a lazy twirl. "And how else are we getting out of here? Only way out we know of is the way we came, which was by shadowtravel. Then there's that tunnel we have to go upwards in so shadowtravel needed there as well." Neko said as he lazily paced in a circle. "Cat's got some good points." Izzy stated as she slowly got up. A sudden shake of the temple made her and the others jump in alarm. Hisses of steam exploded from various areas on the walls. Ethan swore. "Why didn't I think of this outcome?!" He shouted as he frantically looked around. "Ethan, what's going on?" Yoshi questioned as everyone huddled together away from the walls. They were starting to crack and crumble as more steam emitted from them. "If that golem controlled the Glacialis magica, it was probably what was keeping it all frozen as well!" Ethan said. "And now that it's gone..." Yoshi said as the situation dawned on him. "The frozen magic is gonna thaw!" Ethan panicked. "So what's the big deal with some magic escaping into the air?" Neko asked. "Do you even comprehend how densely packed magic has to be to get frozen solid?! It's most likely gonna EXPLODE!" Ethan franticly stated. Neko's fur stood on end at that info. "Welp ok then time to go now!" The feline said in a rush as he quickly dived into his shadow and pulled the others in before taking off.

Pure devastation and ruin filled the temple as cracks along its walls released magical steam. The magic steam fogged the air and gave it a bright glow. Neko's shadow zoomed through the temple, zipping side to side to avoid explosive bursts of steam as the walls continued cracking. "I know you said this place was gonna explode but I didn't realize it would be happening this fast!" The feline stated in panic. "It's an entire temple made of condensed frozen magic, and it's all falling apart at once!" Ethan stated. "Let's just hurry so we're not inside for the big kaboom!" Yoshi urged as they made it to the top of the tunnel they fell down. Neko's shadow slid under the slab of ice that had blocked the door to the hallway earlier. The hall was filled with magic steam as the runes that fired the ice slivers now were firing geysers of steam. "Is it getting hotter in here?" Neko asked as he felt heat emitting from the steam. "The rapid thawing and fast movements of steam must be heating the place up." Ethan theorized. "Great, so we're out of the freezer and into the oven!" Neko shouted. "Well it's more like a sauna really." Izzy pointed out. "Who cares!?" Neko shouted before a massive burst of steam crumbled the floor below Neko's shadow.


	10. Escaping The Storm

The Grand Crimson was flying high above Gravefrost Glacier. A sudden spike in energy though had started to kick up a strong storm. The winds began galing. Thunder started tearing through the clouds. Nina did her best to hold the helm steady through the storm. "Where did this storm come from? It wasn't this bad a few seconds ago." The nightfright said. Diesel had his scanners going at full efficiency. "I'm seeing strong energy spikes from the top of Frostair Peak. It's throwing the area's weather into an absolute wreck!" Remmy stated. Diesel gave a light nod. "To make things worse, I'm detecting that Yoshi and the others are at the heart of this mess." The mech said. Nina gazed forth toward the mountain area they were heading to. "Please be safe everyone." She said.

~ Ch.10: Escaping The Storm

Within the temple, everyone was falling after the floors collapse. With no solid surface to rest on, Neko's shadowtravel gave out. "Can I not just catch a break?!" The feline fumed. "Forget catching a break and hope for something to catch us! The grounds getting close fast!" Ethan stated. After looking down and seeing the swift approach of the ground, Neko took a deep breath. "Let's try this again." The feline said before bringing his arms together and diving down to the ground. Right before contacting the ground he opened his shadow to fall into and then quickly glided along the floor to catch everyone else. "Great job, now let's get the heck out of here!" Izzy shouted as more cracks burst with magic steam around them. Neko wasted no time gliding to the nearest wall and going back up. After a bit of climbing and dodging any bursts of steam, they made it back to the level they were at before. "Top floor, snow cones and ice cream parlor. Floor also features an emergency exit." Neko joked as he made his way to the broken down wall they entered from.

The Grand Crimson was now almost over Frostair Peak. "What in the name of Gaia is that?" Nina questions as they approached the peak of the mountain. A cyclone of energy was building. "We're gonna have to go through that." Diesel stated. "Are you crazy?!" Nina exclaimed as she looked toward the mech. "Yoshi and the others are in there." Diesel stated. Remmy grit his teeth. "We have to be quick. That energy the cyclone's feeding off of is highly unstable." The zurg stated as he read through the scans of it. Nina looked toward the storming energy with worry. She took a deep breath, then with a determined gaze she raised the power to the ships main thrusters. "Hang on everyone!" The nightfright called as The Grand Crimson flew into the cyclone.

Streams of magic steam billowed from the temple, feeding a cyclone around it. The icy terrain around it cracked and broke apart from the rising temperature and magic energy in the area. Neko's shadow darted out of the temples broken wall and halted at the sight. "Sweet merciful Gaia, what happened out here?!" Neko questioned. Bits of the terrain had started to collapse into the ground. "With the temple underground thawing and collapsing, the surrounding area must be growing unstable." Brim said. "Plus with the excess energy in the air, the natural balance is being thrown into chaos." Ethan stated. Before much else could be said, Neko's shadow started to wobble and warp. Neko swore loudly. "We need to move!" The feline said before his shadow darted off. He paused when a sudden sparking crash was heard. At the edge of the surrounding cyclone, the twisting energy seemed to be colliding with something. An unmistakable large red ship began emerging from the wall. "It's The Grand Crimson!" Yoshi shouted. "Let's hurry!" Neko said as his shadow darted in the ship's direction.

Neko focused intensely on keeping his shadowtravel from breaking as he made his way toward the shadow of The Grand Crimson. Once he reached the ships shadow, he used it to make his way up to the ship itself. He then rushed full speed up to the deck, just barely keeping his shadow together till he got there. Upon reaching the railings of the deck his shadowtravel gave out. With various shouts, everyone toppled out of the shadow. "Oh come on!" Neko whined as he once more ended up at the bottom of the pile of everyone. "Are you all alright?" Nina asked from the helm. Everyone quickly picked themselves up. "We won't be if we don't get out of here! The whole place is about to blow!" Ethan franticly stated. Meanwhile, in the ruins of the temples bottom chamber, glowing eyes opened within the flood of thawing magic. Back aboard The Grand Crimson, a sound was heard that sent feelings of disbelief and horror through the group. An all too familiar roar. "Get us out of here now!" Yoshi ordered. Nina quickly turned the wheel to steer The Grand Crimson away from the area.

The Grand Crimson soon cleared the cyclone and was on its way out of the immediate area. Neko gave a sigh of relief. "You know, for a bit there I thought we weren't gonna make it." The feline stated. Cracks of thunder soon crashed back the way they came. Looking back, the group was shocked to see the cyclone condensing around the temple area while the clouds above it spread out. "This isn't looking good!" Remmy said as he read through scans Diesel was picking up. "That energy storm is hitting critical mass, and we're still in its range!" The zurg stated. The ship then gave a jolt as winds gusted by, being drawn into the storm. With the winds against it, The Grand Crimson was having trouble going forward. With grit teeth, Yoshi ran to the helm. "We need to divert more power to the thrusters if we wanna get out in time. Yoshi input some codes into the helm's console and soon the thrusters of the ship gave an increased burst of power. "It's still not enough! That energy in that storm is gonna blow before-" Remmy was saying before a loud roar cut him off. The storms energy then spiked before a loud explosion ignited back at the temple.

With the explosion at the temple, the wind direction flipped violently. Now it was bursting away from Frostair Peak. Yoshi took full advantage of this and had The Grand Crimson riding the wind away. "We're still not gonna make it before that energy hits us!" Remmy informed. A sudden cracking sound took everyone's attention. A Gaian sized spike of ice had landed on the deck. "Tell me it isn't..." Yoshi began. He then saw Neko, Ethan, Wendy and Izzy staring in horror and disbelief behind the ship. Yoshi chanced a glance behind him and was shaken at what he saw. Inside the energy wave of the explosion was an unmistakable figure. The golem from earlier was now a part of the energy burst, and he was firing at the ship! "Can that guy not die?!" Neko questioned. "It truly is a force of nature and magic." Ethan said in disbelief. Yoshi gripped tight to the helm. "Well force of nature or not, it's not getting us. Not today." The pirate stated as a plan formed. "Diesel, Remmy, can you get me a reading of that things energy signature?" Yoshi asked. Remmy was confused. "Um, yeah, but why?" The zurg questioned. "Just get that reading and send the info to the ships console." Yoshi ordered.

Once Diesel scanned the energy signature from the approaching storm, he wasted no time sending it to the ships console. With a smirk, Yoshi read through it and did some quick calculations. "Frequency locked, wavelength locked, energy level locked." Yoshi listed off as he swiftly input codes into the console. "Hang on everyone and let's hope this works!" He shouted with a final key push. The Grand Crimson's speed began to harshly fall and everyone grabbed onto what they could. "Yoshi what did you do?!" Neko questioned in panic. With the smirk turning into a grin, Yoshi gave a hard turn of the wheel. The ship turned until they were heading toward the approaching storm. "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" Neko screamed so loud his voice cracked. Yoshi stayed silent with his grin not leaving his face. The figure of the golem in the storm gave a loud roar as various ice spikes formed and launched at the ship. Yoshi steered the ship side to side, dodging the ice. "Just a little closer..." The pirate said. "Everyone get below deck now!" He ordered. Nobody needed to be told twice as they rushed below deck. Yoshi then input a bit more code, then the platings at the bow of the ship began to move open. "Ionicka primed and ready!" Yoshi took careful aim as energy sparked in the ships ion cannon. "Stay frosty you dumb golem." The pirate said as he locked onto his target. The Ionicka cannon let out a piercing screech as it was fired. Once it hit its mark the golem, along with the storm, started glowing and breaking up. The golem let out one last roar before breaking into a mist.


	11. Out of the Cold

Sparks of energy crackled through the air as the once thick storm clouds faded away to mere wisps. The wisps dispersed as The Grand Crimson flew through it. Yoshi kept a sharp eye on the surroundings for any sight of further danger. He eventually let out a sigh of relief as he turned his ship toward the sea. He hit a button on the console to engage the coms. "Alright everyone, it's safe to come back on deck." The pirate informed. It wasn't long before everyone started emerging from below deck. Neko shook his head with a chuckle. "You never cease to amaze." The feline stated. Everyone else was taking in the sight of the remaining clouds and sparks of energy. "What did you do? How did you get rid of that storm?" Ethan questioned. Remmy laughed. "So this is why you had Diesel scan that thing! You used the readings from it and set the Ionicka's energy to cancel it out! That's almost as brilliant as me." The zurg said with a massive grin. "So... is that thing gone?" Izzy asked as she gazed at the fading clouds. "Who knows? It was a being of magic, for all we know it could one day take form to guard this place again." Yoshi stated. Izzy hummed as she continued gazing into the distance.

~ Ch.11: Out of the Cold

It wasn't long until The Grand Crimson reached the edge of Gravefrost Glacier. Izzy skipped her way to the ships railing. "Well, this was a fun little adventure." She said as she hopped up and sat on the rail. "But I should get back to my training. See you all some other time." She gave a salute and rolled over the railing. Everyone ran over to the railing in shock, only to see Izzy rocketing through the air with her fire magic. "Jeez, I think we've just met someone as Crazy as Yoshi." Neko stated with a chuckle. "Who was she anyway?" Nina asked. "She's a fire mage who's been training in the harsh cold of the area." Wendy stated. "She helped us a couple times when things went bad." The young mage continued. Ethan chuckled and put his arm around Neko's shoulder. "And she also seemed to have a thing for Neko." The bunny said. Neko's fur stood on end. "WHAT?!" He exclaimed. "Don't tell me you didn't notice her flirting when we first met her." Ethan said with a pat on the felines shoulder. "Wow Neko, are ya a cat or a dog?" Remmy asked with a massive grin. "I HAVE NO INTEREST IN HER!" Neko shouted as he tried getting away from the teasing duo. Nina meanwhile didn't know what to think of this.

Several hours pass after leaving Gravefrost Glacier. In a room just outside the ships core room, Remmy had just finished running a system check on Diesel. The mech gave a light jolt as his systems were activated. "How you feeling Diesel?" Remmy asked as he wiped his hands off with a piece of cloth. "Systems back to 100%." Diesel stated with a nod. Remmy lightly chuckled. "I knew you would be back to normal once all the ice crystals in you melted away!" The zurg cheered. "Now come on, let's go show everyone how much better you're feeling!" Remmy cheered as he hopped into Diesel's console. At that moment, the room's door opened. Turning toward the door, Remmy and Diesel saw that it was Wendy. "Hey Wendy. What brings you down to this part of the ship?" Remmy asked. Wendy smiled when she saw Diesel up and moving. "I just came down to check on Diesel. I see you're doing much better now." The young mage said. She then hummed as she gave the mech a gaze of suspicion. "Have you been practicing your speaking since we last talked about it?" Wendy questioned, to which Diesel gave a light nod. "Yes I have." The mech spoke, his voice was still a bit hoarse, but noticeably better than before. "You're having Diesel practice speaking?" Remmy asked. "Yep, that way he could speak on his own if he wants." Wendy said with a nod. Remmy shrugged with a smile. "Eh, whatever makes you happy I guess." The zurg said before he and Diesel left the room with Wendy following them.

With The Grand Crimson's flight system set on autopilot, Yoshi makes his way into the ship's core room before walking to a far wall. He inputs a code on its keypad, opening a hidden glass containment chamber. In the chamber rested a couple metallic ring devices, one of which held the Black Diamond of Umbrae Mundi. Yoshi gazes for a second at the Black Diamond before taking out the newest acquired relic and placing it on an open ring device. Energy sparked from the relic into the surrounding ring with a subtle hum. "One more relic to strengthen that tracker." Yoshi said to himself. He heard some footsteps approaching. Turning around he saw Nina walking his way. She stood beside him and looked at the relic he just placed. "These are powerful items of great power." The nightfright said. "I have no doubts they are this worlds equal to the artifacts that sparked my worlds war." She somberly stated. "Then we mustn't let them fall in the wrong hands." Yoshi said as his thoughts returned to the prophecy that Nightmare told. They were getting closer to gathering all the relics. Whoever else is after them might make themself known soon.

Meanwhile, on an island within a far off storm, trouble was brewing. Magic burst through the air, obliterating several buildings. Two familiar cloaked figures stood firing magic on the town. "You all better give us what we came here for! Our boss will not be happy with your disobedience!" One shouted as he fired more magic. "Y-yeah, you all better listen to Bobby. Our b-boss is not one to cross." The second said with a stutter. Bobby sighed as he turned to his accomplice. "Benny, can you just man up maybe a tiny bit." He said with great annoyance. "Right, sorry Bobby." Benny replied before a plank of wood hit his head. "Who did that?!" Bobby shouted as he turned back to the town they were attacking. A relatively buff man in an apron stood in their way. "I'm the mayor of this town and keeper of this island. Now I suggest you get going while the getting is good." The man warned. Bobby chuckled before going into a fit of laughter. "This guy must have a death wish challenging us!" He said through his laughs. A sinister green fog then filled the area that caused the two magic users to cower. "What is your name? I wanna set an example for this backwater town using your head." A voice said from within the fog. The man in question reached to the wall of the building beside him and took off a torch from it. He then smirked as he took a bottle out of his back pocket. "The names Dennis, and as this town's mayor, I am kicking you out." Dennis declared before taking a drink from the battle and spitting the contents through the torch, setting the fog ablaze.


End file.
